Gemigabok presents...
Winter of No Surrender
http://www.saunalahti.fi/~ejuhola/7.62/chainofcommand/WoNS_1-2/index.html
Campaign Eleven – Fangs of the Wolf
Game Four – Parts Three and Four
Winter of No Surrender (WoNS) is a series of Winter War campaigns for Chain of Command and other game systems. This is our playthrough of the eleventh
WoNS campaign –
Fangs of the Wolf. The campaign is currently in playtest and will be released... later.
We're using Chain of Command rules with the At the Sharp End supplement, loads of special campaign rules, and 20mm figures on an 8x5 ft table. At the time of writing, we have John as Colonel Sharov and Janne as his assistant commander, but Janne did not make it to these games so John played both Red Army platoons. We have Jarkko as Lieutenant-Colonel Susitaival, with Mikko as his assistant command. We're playing on Discord using three 720p HD cameras as most of the players are located at least 600 km from me.
Previously on Fangs of the Wolf:
Campaign Introduction:
https://thewargamersforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=4954Game One, Part I:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=137031.0 Game One, Part II:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=137317.0Game Two:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=137428.0 Game Three, Part I:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=137800.0Game Three, Parts II & III:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=138177.0Game Three, Part IV:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=138510.0Game Four, Parts I & II:
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=138831.0 
THE FINNS, in Blue:
0 Ltn Avela and his messenger team (JL + 4 messengers) (Jarkko)
3rd Platoon (Jarkko):
1 - 1st rifle section
3- 3rd rifle section
4th platoon (Mikko):
5 - 1st rifle section, with platoon sergeant
6 - 2nd LMG section
7 - 3rd rifle section, with platoon leader
8 - 4th LMG section
9 - MMG section from 1st MMG platoon (Jarkko)
10 - MMG section from 2nd MMG platoon (Mikko)
SOVIETS, in Red:
2nd MMG Platoon (Janne):
H - Platoon leader
5 - 1st section
6 - 2nd section
12 – Rifle section
13 - 62 6th Telephone and Semaphore Section (Team)
14 - Workshop 1
As you might remember from Game Four Parts I & II, Group Wolf is attacking Table L, Hallasenaho farm. Thus far the attack – which threatens Workshop 1, a Soviet unit responsible for the repair and maintenance of weapons - has proceeded at a relentless pace and the Soviets have already withdrawn one of their MMG platoons after a short shooting match with the attackers. Therefore only one MMG platoon of four MMGs plus possibly some supports is now facing two Finnish rifle platoons supported by at least two MMGs and the Company command section.
Before the game John messages me that he intends to withdraw on the first or second Russian phase. So this is going to be a short game tonight.
But until then, there is no mercy in a Finnish forest. The battle continues with the Finnish phase.
It is continuing to snow hard, limiting visibility to 18”. The assembled Finnish units once again open fire at the small farmhouse holding the Soviet unit #13, the 6th Telephone and Semaphore Section. This is a team of five men, led by a junior leader and tasked with communicating with the HQ and transmitting their orders to the forces near this farm. For the duration of the game, they have been lying low prone on the floor of the house, trying to survive the near-continuous hail of bullets perforating the timber walls. The walls grant light cover against rifle-caliber weapons and heavy cover against SMGs and pistols. Because of their tactical stance, we upgrade their cover status to heavy and bunker cover, respectively.
Despite this, casualties and shock have been mounting inside the little house. It now becomes too much for the team to handle, and two survivors – the section leader and one telephone techician – scramble out of the house... leaving behind their wounded and dying comrades and all their telephone equipment...
They run away into the woods and have five points of shock... In the woods, they realize that four of their comrades did not make it out of the house, and their heavy thoughts cause them to become pinned.
At the eastern end of the table, Mikko moves his LMG section #6 behind the parked trucks.
There are no live enemies in sight, but towards the north, some 18” away, is an undefended jump-off point. Capturing that would deal a blow to the Soviet Force Morale...
But crossing the field unsupported would be extremely risky... ”Lieutenant,” the section leader hollers, ”no sign of the Russ... but I don't like this!”
Second Lieutenant Kokkonen – Mikko's Senior Leader – sends his rifle section #7 to support the LMG section...
They do not quite make it to the trucks during this move...
In the south, herded by Jarkko's platoon sergeant, the MMG team have reached the Russian trench.
Mikko reinforces his forces by moving his LMG section #8 closer to the trucks...
Meanwhile, in the farmyard, his MMG savages the barn, killing so me more artisans. Both of the workshop's leaders are dead as are three of the workers.
And now it is the Soviet phase. Seeing that his eastern jump-off point is in danger of being overrun, he starts moving his foces east...
He only has one usable command die roll result this phase, so he moves just MMG team #5.
At the farm, all of Mikko's troops again fire at the barn.
There is shouting and cries of the wounded within... the workshop suffer another two points of shock.
In the east, Mikko continues to build his coming attack...
Rifle section #7 has reached the trucks, but more support will be needed before a crossing of the road can be attempted. We're dealing with medium machineguns...
LMG section #8 moves up but at a slow rate. Perhaps they aren't all that excited to advance...
John moves Janne's MMG sections 5 and 6, and the supporting rifle section #12 east. All of his troops seem suprisingly motivated, moving ten or eleven inches at a time even in the woods...
THE FINNS, in Blue:
0 Ltn Avela and his messenger team (JL + 4 messengers) (Jarkko)
3rd Platoon (Jarkko):
1 - 1st rifle section
4th platoon (Mikko):
5 - 1st rifle section, with platoon sergeant
6 - 2nd LMG section
7 - 3rd rifle section, with platoon leader
8 - 4th LMG section
9 - MMG section from 1st MMG platoon (Jarkko)
10 - MMG section from 2nd MMG platoon (Mikko)
SOVIETS, in Red:
2nd MMG Platoon (Janne):
H - Platoon leader
5 - 1st section
6 - 2nd section
12 – Rifle section
13 - 62 6th Telephone and Semaphore Section (Team)
14 - Workshop 1
But the White Bandits are there, lurking behind the trucks, just waiting for a double phase during which to make a dash for the jump-off point, and they cannot be ignored...
John deploys his MMG section #7 from the eastern jump-off point. This is sure to keep the enemies from making any rash attempts towards the jump-off point.
What's more, despite the snow storm, the MMG is now just barely in line of sight of the Finnish LMG section...
The burst of fire mutilates one poor man and causes the section one point of shock...
Meanwhile, MMG section #5 drag their heavy weapon through the snow towards the farm...
From here they can see only one enemy soldier, but of course a heavy support weapon like this cannot be moved and fired in the same phase so for now they must wait for next phase.
The Finns' phase. Mikko's troops fire at the barn, once again. Of the 19 men and officers in the workshop, eleven are now dead and the remaining eight have nine points of shock. They are now pinned.
Next, Mikko needs to prevent his SMG team from being shot up by the Russian machinegun looming in the forest to the north. He orders the team to run into the yard and take cover there, which they eagerly do.
Here they are safe from the MMG, but quite exposed to the pinned men of the workshop in the barn. But Mikko calculates that John is not going to activate them, as the loss of unactivated supply troops do not count against Force Morale but that of activated would.
Beyond the barn and the trucks, on the other side of the road, John has brought Janne's supporting rifle section #12.
At the eastern end of the woods, John's MMG section #5 suddenly appears and is immediately targeted by the two Finnish sections behind the trucks... they suffer two points of shock.
John deploys the last MMG section of his platoon, #8...
The appearance of two MMG sections this phase means that Mikko's two depleted Finnish sections are now facing no fewer than three Red Army MMGs and a full rifle section...
Even worse, the current Finnish positions behind the trucks and the snow blizzard do not really enable Mikko to efficiently add more units to the firefight, there really isn't much room for that.
THE FINNS, in Blue:
0 Ltn Avela and his messenger team (JL + 4 messengers) (Jarkko)
3rd Platoon (Jarkko):
1 - 1st rifle section
4th platoon (Mikko):
11 – Platoon leader 2nd ltn Kokkonen and two messengers
5 - 1st rifle section, with platoon sergeant
7 - 3rd rifle section
8 - 4th LMG section
10 - MMG section from 2nd MMG platoon (Mikko)
SOVIETS, in Red:
2nd MMG Platoon (Janne):
H - Platoon leader
5 - 1st section
6 - 2nd section
7 - 3rd section
8 - 4th section
12 – Supporting Rifle section
14 - Workshop 1
Mikko knows that he also isn't going to be able to match the Russians' firepower, which we calculate to be around 46 dice per phase, if John were able to roll his command dice perfectly, which is of course unlikely. In this campaign the Russians have four regular command dice plus a Blue Die, which only counts if it is a 5 or a 6.
Mikko therefore needs to reduce enemy firepower BEFORE his troops are cut to shreds by it. He expends a CoC die and has his LMG section shoot at the Red Army MMG team #5.
The Russians are upset by the furous fire and they suffer another three points of shock...
Jarkko brings in reinforcements as he still has undeployed troops. LMG section #2 appears in the south.
Lieutenant Avela advances with his HQ.
Mikko has a double phase, so he again targets the Soviet MMG... the fire is devastating and one man falls down grievously wounded, and they get so many points of shock that they become pinned...
Section 7 throws a smoke pot. Smoke grenades weren't much used in the Winter War but smoke pots were much more common. While smoke grenades cause a -1 to hit, smoke pots are 6” of blocking smoke.
The pot lands perfectly and blocks most of rifle section #12's firing sector. Playing very skillfully, Mikko has therefore in one phase reduced the enemy's firepower from 46 down to around 27...
Closer to the farm, Jarkko has been worried about possible patrolling armored vehicles suddenly appearing from off-table, like in Game Three, so he has placed their machine gun onto overwatch towards the south.
But the Finns need more firepower at the farm...
...so the gunners dismantle their gun and heave the parts onto their shoulders, heading north.
The Russians' phase.
John places rifle section #12 on overwatch.
But then... something very unexpected happens. Howling, 81mm mortar bombs careen down from the sky, striking the Finnish deployment areas... multiple explosions shake the earth!
Mikko has rolled a quadruple six on his command dice causing a random event!
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April 20, 2024, 06:33:47 AM
September 08, 2022, 06:18:01 AM